While the recent murder on Milstone Drive shocked the local community, authorities are using it as a learning experience.
On Sept. 8, authorities found the body of Diana West, 68, in a chest freezer in the basement of her home on Milstone Drive. Her husband, Kenneth, 47, was found dead in a Galloway motel the following day, having apparently shot himself.
Officials used the case as a chance to learn how to work with the Ohio Bureau of Investigation (BCI). Union County Coroner David Applegate said he was happy to see his staff worked well with the Union County Prosecutor’s Office and BCI.
He said his staff also proved they could handle the more unusual parts of the case. That included shipping the body to the Montgomery County Coroner while it was still confined in the freezer.
“This was a little unusual, having to ship a body in a freezer, and they didn’t bat an eye about it,” Applegate said. “They dealt with adverse conditions and still came through.”
Applegate said the case made him confident that if another challenging case comes along, his team will be ready.
“They know how to work with others, because we don’t know everything,” Applegate said.
Marysville Police Sgt. Terry Basinger said the case was new for his agency as well.
“The circumstances around this death were definitely unique here in Marysville,” Basinger said.
Basinger said as authorities searched the house, they began feel that something wasn’t right. Marysville Police called in the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to help with the search.
Basinger said at that point authorities, “(rallied) the troops to try and find where the people went.”
It was, according to Basinger, a collaborative effort.
“When I started out … having that many people pulled together in that many hours was unthinkable,” Basinger said.
He there were many moving parts to the case. Working with the coroner’s office and BCI allowed them to handle all of those parts.
“We were able to pull a lot of resources very quickly,” Basinger said.
Union County Coroner’s Office Investigator Lance Emberling said his office learned how to better establish a timeline of events. That includes how long the victim may have been dead.
“We couldn’t use normal (techniques) that we’d normally use, due to her being frozen,” said Union County Coroner’s Office investigator Jim Fish.
Emberling said since authorities couldn’t take her out of the freezer without damaging her body, they sent her to Montgomery County, still frozen inside.
“She was stuck,” Applegate said.
Emberling said taking the body out of the freezer would likely have involved ripping skin, and “causing more injury to the body unnecessarily.”
Officials said at that point, it would have been hard to distinguish between injuries made during the death, and injuries made while removing her from the freezer. Emberling said the freezer was sealed with evidence tape, and sent to Montgomery County.
It ended up taking four days for the body to thaw before an autopsy could occur. In the meantime, local authorities spoke to neighbors, looked at personal and financial records and pieced together their timeline.
Officials said this case was different because it involved the suspect sending messages from the victim’s phone.
“You have to kind of try to eliminate what is actually hers, and what he was doing,” Emberling said.
Emberling said other cases have allowed them to use insect eggs to determine a timeline. As an example, he mentioned the man found earlier this year in the parking lot of a local hotel.
He said flies will lay eggs on dead bodies, and the coroner’s office can look at how far along the eggs are to help determine a timeline.
While the case might seem strange, Applegate said it might not be so weird.
“It does seem maybe unusual for this small area or this small town,” Applegate said.
Applegate said as officials train, they hear of examples of other strange cases in other areas. Those cases could include the dismemberment of bodies, or hiding them in strange places.
He cited one case in Champaign County where authorities found a mummified body. Compared to cases like that, a body in a freezer seems a bit less weird.
“It’s unusual, but not that unusual,” Applegate said.
Applegate said while it also might seem like metropolitan areas are more prone to unusual deaths and murders, that might not be the case. Rural cases might simply be easier to hide.
“Sometimes, I think it’s easier to hide things out in the country,” Applegate said. “And other times, I think neighbors are nosier.”